Surrender the Self: Goat Interviewed

Anyone who has experienced the psychotropic powerhouse that is the Swedish rock band Goat live will attest that it is an enlivening experience. Actually this is something of an understatement; it’d be more accurate to say that their live incarnation has the power to revert the devotee to a pre-linguistic state of rapturous abandon, coercing the body into rhythmic conflagration whilst revealing the mysterious womb-tomb of the inner mind.

Anyone who has experienced the psychotropic powerhouse that is the Swedish rock band Goat live will attest that it is an enlivening experience. Actually this is something of an understatement; it'd be more accurate to say that their live incarnation has the power to revert the devotee to a pre-linguistic state of rapturous abandon, coercing the body into rhythmic conflagration whilst revealing the mysterious womb-tomb of the inner mind.

Their first album, 2012's World Music, drew the dots between all your favourite cross-continental psych proffered by labels like Finders Keepers and Sublime Frequencies, tearing up dance floors and cerebral cortexes alike with its hyperkinetic brand of afrophonic hard rock. Their latest burnt offering, Commune, is a paean to collectivity and a plea for mankind to embrace a communal destiny, delivered with a musical heft that arguably improves on their early material. In Goat's world, Love is the Law, and with Commune they conclude that this is a message best brought to the world via the hoarse incantations of two Amazonian frontwomen astride a martial Fela Kuti beat with the aid of screaming stoner metal guitar leads.

This weekend (Sat 4th April) sees Goat bring 'Sounds of Surrender' to Bristol, the home of their UK label Rocket Recordings. As part of Red Bull Music Academy's tour series, the show will see the band play before an audience divested of such quotidian trappings as phones, cameras and money, and furnished with identity-concealing masks like the ones Goat sport on every public occasion. Intrigued by all this, The 405 got in touch with band representative Kim John Goat to discuss the show, masks, and music's false Cartesian split.

405: Where did the idea for the Sounds of Surrender show come from? How do you think the audience's being given masks and having their phones and money taken away affect the overall experience?

KJG: This was all the organizer's idea, but it sure sounds fun to try and see if it has some effect somehow. We are very curious to see how this will work and what it will become.

Besides the sense of anonymity, does performing in masks provide any other benefits?

KJG: Yeah, it hides the fact that we all look like grandchildren to the Elephant Man.

Do you think the audience's wearing of masks at Sounds of Surrender will allow them to share a similar experience to the one the band has on stage?

KJG: I don't know what it will do and I don't wanna guess too much, but it would surprise me if it makes them feel like they are actually playing guitar.

I've been fortunate enough to see Goat live twice and both times have been fantastic. Has there been any gigs or moments when playing over the last few years which have been really memorable?

KJG: I think the first US tour was very memorable and also Glastonbury and the Roundhouse. But in a way it's the whole experience that is memorable, not particular shows. I have enjoyed all shows I've been a part of.

You've toured around the world a lot since the release of your first album. Is that ability to travel around the world as part of a band something you enjoy? What's been your favourite place in the world, to play in or to visit?

KJG: We enjoy it a lot. Otherwise we wouldn't do it. A favourite place in the world to visit would be Fredrikshamn in Denmark.

Do you prefer jamming and rehearsing away from an audience or do you enjoy playing live gigs more?

KJG: It all has its wonderful aspects. It is very different to me: jamming, recording, and playing live, but I love them all.

You often use spoken word samples at the start of your songs. Could you possibly tell us more about where these samples come from and why you include them on your albums?

KJG: They come from movies, documentaries, or whatever. Except from the obvious meaning in what they say their meaning on the records is musical. They are put in places to create more tension in and bring more depth to the music.

The title of you latest album, Commune, makes me think of bands like Amon Düül/Amon Düül II and MC5, who lived and played music together. Is that a way of life that Goat are interested in as a band?

KJG: Yes, we celebrate communal living as it is a thing we all do, since society is nothing else than that.

Do you feel that things might be better in society of people lived more communally?

KJG: I think things would be much better if people would realize that we all already live together and acknowledge that fact. We all depend on each other and society's wellbeing depends on the wellbeing of the collectives it consists of. And we are all part of many. What a human needs is a positive context and it's always right in front of all of us.

Do you think that music has the power to affect society, politically, spiritually, or otherwise?

KJM: Yes, absolutely. I think that music has been a very important factor in all changes of human history.

Does it annoy you when people try to intellectualise your music? Is music for you a physical or mental thing, or something else?

KJM: Yeah, music shall be experienced more and talked about less. It's so simple really. If you like something, enjoy it. If not, don't listen to it. Music is physical and mental but not something to spend hours discussing in various forums. No music is intellectual.

Is there any music you've been listening to which has been getting you excited, and if so would you like to share it with us?